National Heroes and Benefactors Holiday (Beliza)

National Heroes and Benefactors Day is celebrated on March 9, but it can be moved to the first Monday following the La Ruta Maya Canoe Race. Previously, this day was named after Henry Edward Ernest Victor Bliss, a Portuguese lord. He had given nearly two million Belize dollars, a significant percentage of his riches, to a trust fund established by the colony of British Honduras, now Belize. The fund was later used to help Belizeans by constructing a public library-museum, nursing homes, clinics, and markets. The funds have also been used to upgrade the city’s water supply system.